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MJ Burns Another Bridge

Of course, heâ€™s had to hire top P.R. firms to put a positive spin on all the never-ending child molestation rumors, while simultaneously retaining armies of dream team attorneys to pass out hush money as they fought to squelch every new accusation. And how about that ill-advised appearance in a British documentary during which he was caught holding hands with a pre-teen and confessing that he was still sleeping with boys?

First, the aggressively-odd entertainer aggravated some of us with that insulting extreme makeover which suggested that heâ€™d rather look like a nose-less, albino zombie that just invaded Earth than anything remotely resembling his own people. He spends more on cosmetic surgery than the average Black family does on their house. And the job couldnâ€™t possibly be finished yet, although itâ€™s painfully obvious thereâ€™s nothing they can do to make him look normal again.

Next, he irritated Elvis impersonators after that sham of a marriage which left Lisa Marie completely catatonic when she realized her boy-hungry hubby was more interested in her famous fatherâ€™s publishing rights than in her. Jacksonâ€™s next loveless liaisons had child advocates calling for intervention when it became apparent that he was paying white women to bear babies for him to dangle off balconies for kicks. Donâ€™t you wish he were your dad?

Of course, heâ€™s had to hire top P.R. firms to put a positive spin on all the never-ending child molestation rumors, while simultaneously retaining armies of dream team attorneys to pass out hush money as they fought to squelch every new accusation. And how about that ill-advised appearance in a British documentary during which he was caught holding hands with a pre-teen and confessing that he was still sleeping with boys? In an unauthorized bio published earlier this year, Bob Jones, a well-respected P.R. man who had worked at Jacksonâ€™s side for 34 years spilled the beans about his former employer, all but confirming the persistent suspicions about his bossâ€™ pedophilia and also confirming some ugly rumors about Michaelâ€™s alleged anti-Semitism.

The latter had started in 1995 after he released a song called â€œThey Donâ€™t Care About Us,â€? whose lyrics went like this, â€œJew me, sue me, everybody do me. Kick me, kike me, donâ€™t you black or white me.â€? When MTV removed the video from the airwaves, Spike Lee re-shot it with cleaned up lyrics.

Now, even Jacksonâ€™s trusted advisors have begun to bail on him, stepping forward to acknowledge that thereâ€™s plenty in Mikeâ€™s closet we probably ought to know about. Despite beating the statutory rape rap, it is readily apparent that the falling star has entered the crash and burn phase of his career. Jackson had quietly left America for the relative obscurity offered by the tiny Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain, an island about triple the size of Washington, D.C. with a population of less than a million. Unfortunately, the disgraced iconâ€™s story didnâ€™t end there, for a lawsuit just filed by another disgruntled business partner has catapulted his name back into the tabloids.

Dieter Wiesner claims that he is owed $64 million, and as proof heâ€™s submitted into evidenceâ€”and to the mediaâ€”audiotapes on which Jackson is heard uttering resurrecting some hateful stereotypes about Jews.

Good and bad people come in every color, religion and ethnicity. If Michael Jackson has a bone to pick with certain individuals, he ought to describe the nature of the specific problem, not resort to the evil shortcut of unproductive group slander which only unfairly diminishes a whole segment of society.

I suspect that if Michael Jackson had devoted his life to dealing with, instead of running from, reality, he might be of a more sympathetic nature. For had he accepted himself and chosen to walk the Earth as a black man, heâ€™d know, firsthand, the pain of discrimination and of being pre-judged by something other than the content of his character.

Black Star columnist Williams is a member of the NJ, NY, CT, PA, MA & US Supreme Court bars.

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